MickD

I tried it and it appears to be larger than that Alberto (3 thicknesses of the leader?), does not seem to give as streamlined shape, so I'm not sure if it will go through small micro guides as well as the Alberto. It's clearly a lot bigger than the FG, and clearly a lot easier to tie than the FG. I'm not wild about having to pull the whole leader through the loop. Finally, it looks like it wastes a lot of leader and braid, more than the other knots. I'll stick with the double uni on smaller leaders, FG and Alberto on the bigger ones. I noticed on one write-up for the Kreh knot that it "works well with lines of about the same diameter," which means it may not work as well with big differences in diameter?

I was not meaning to imply that any of the suggested knots were not excellent knots; I only was trying to answer the OP issue of having difficulty tying the Alberto. The above method solved that issue for me. I will try the Kreh knot. Very simple, but looks large compared to the Alberto. If size is not an issue then the most reliable, simplest knot very well could be the double uni.

To tie the Alberto I form the loop and hold the loop and the braid tag with my left thumb and forefinger, then do the wraps out. At that time shift the half completed knot to the right thumb and forefinger making sure that you don't turn it over during the transfer. Now do the wraps easily and neatly back up and stick the tag through the loop. Now grab the knot with the left hand again and pull the LEADER tag end gently. This will close the knot so that it will be secure for the rest of the process. Now wet the knot and alternately pull the main lines and the leader tag end against the braid main line. The knot will not hold unless the leader loop is very tightly closed, so it has to be set just like an FG, very tightly. This is especially important on stiffer leaders (15 pound test and higher, leader material stiff mono, etc). The only way the knot can unravel is if the tag end slips out of the spot where the leader loop is closed. So I tie two tight half hitches of the braid tag end against the finished knot. Then cut the tag ends. Sounds more complicated than it is, and it allows one to tie a very nice, cylindrical, knot since the wraps can be done neatly and evenly. I don't trust the Alberto without the half hitches, especially with heavier leaders. With the half hitches, I think it's bullet-proof.

A-Jay, please don't take me so seriously. I'm not doubting your integrity.

A-Jay, with all due respect, I don't believe it will ever happen. What I am going to do: - Spend more time looking for new areas that will hold SMB. I say this because here in MI the water levels are rising so fast that I think the habitat is changing and my old spots may not be as desirable for the fish as they are for me. Great memories, though. - Stop in the middle of the day, have a sandwich or a chicken wing, and calmly ask myself "What am I not doing that I should be considering." This is to expand my options from doing only what has worked in the past but isn't working today. - Don't take short-cuts on knots. - Don't procrastinate, go fishing on the dates that worked in the past. Things change so fast that next week won't work. - Forget about fishing the slop during the first week of duck season. This is not something that is universally appreciated.

Good stuff, A-Jay. I guess I'm in all five stages. But to me, BASS really means smallmouth bass. If I lived somewhere else where I had a shot at double digit LMB, it would be different. But here in MI, the 4, 5, and now and then 6 pound SMB is what turns me on. A couple years ago I figured that 6 people had taken their personal best SMB from my boat in the 2-3 previous years. That was pretty neat to consider.

I cast with the right, often two handed, and have both left and right BC reels. I don't have a problem going back and forth. I think for most people it just takes practice, getting used to it.

The Alberto is quite easy if you hold the loop end with one hand and wrap the braid away from it with the other, then switch hands to hold the two lines at the end of the wrap and use the other hand to wrap back up towards the loop, stick the tag end through, wet it and set very solidly. Then, IMO, add a couple tight braid half hitches before cutting the tag end.

I sometimes think it's because I do so much "snapping" of jigs, aggressive action, which may tend to loosen knots. Never happens with double uni, sometimes happens with Alberto. If I get a good FG, that sets properly without slipping, it holds all the time, too. But the Alberto, not so. Will be interesting to see if the half hitches solve it. Russ E, how long do you leave the braid tag end? What pound test leader are you using? (I believe that the problem I have will be worse the heavier the leader since the closure of the loop will be tighter on lighter leaders than it will be on heavier leaders.) My experience is with 12-15 pound test FC leader material, stiff fly tippets, not FC line used as leaders.

I have tried just about everything with the Alberto, but I still now and then get one that "unravels." I am "religious" in making sure the braid tag end exits properly, and heavily set the knot as recommended. I believe that the only way it can unravel is if the braid slips out of the "loop." Even though I heavily set the knot to make sure the "loop" is closed tightly, now and then. . . I have concluded that the best way to ensure this does not happen is to add two tightly set half hitches to the braid at the loop after setting the knot. To unravel, both of them would have to unravel and then the tag would have to pull out from the loop. Anyone else done this? It will not make the knot any larger and should, IMO, improve the reliability of the knot.

There are not many knots that are as reliable and easy to tie as the double uni. I've not had trouble with any dia combinations with the double uni, nor have I felt its breaking strength was bad. The closest thing for ease of tying is most likely the Alberto, and there certainly is an easy way to screw it up. I use the Alberto and FG, but both are trickier than the double uni, so if I don't need a small knot, I go with old reliable. I think the problem with duplicating another's success with some of the knots is that the person who is successful doesn't realize or communicate the little tricks he's doing to make the knots reliable. Being successful with some knots is not simply following the sketch on the internet.

Fishing Lake Erie for smb will have you fishing tubes at times, and for tubes, more power is better for better hook sets. Since it's open water, light tackle will work in fighting the fish, but I would go with more power for better hooks sets, more versatility, and the ability to land the fish faster.

With the diameters you are going to use there is no reason to use any other line to leader knot than the double uni, clearly the most reliable line to leader knot. Will not be too big with your line/leader. The double uni is almost impossible to screw up.

I'll add one thing that might help. If one shortens a rod by cutting a couple inches off the butt to prevent snagging on clothing but does not move the reel seat AND uses one handed casting and fish fighting there will be no perceivable change in power or action. Everything from the hand to the tip is unchanged. The balance will be changed a little. However, as soon as that second hand gets onto the butt, it is a different rod based on the objective CCS numbers since CCS measures from the ends of the rod/blank. The difference may be so small that you don't feel it, but it's there. CCS may not be perfect, and it does not answer all questions (sensitivity for example), but it does accurately and objectively measure the power and action of the rod/blank using the descriptors (fast/slow/heavy/light/etc) that rod manufacturers, builders, and most users have agreed to. While a St Croix "heavy power" may be different than a Rainshadow "heavy power," when two rods have the same CCS power and action numbers they are very close to acting alike and feeling alike. (There still can be differences in material/construction/weight/guide train/etc that can affect the feel and performance).

I find 6 pound mono/FC to be too fragile so don't use anything less than 12. For neds, since it is a very subtle finesse technique (or often is, with very light bites or no-feel bites) I use braid for max sensitivity. Usually 15, which for my area with mostly open water, not dragging fish out of bushels of weeds, works fine. I know many go lower for longer casts, but 15 casts fine.

By "that same rod" you mean a rod of the same power but with a moderate action, right?

It was to me, and I'm told it was about the link that was not recognized.

I have no idea why this ended up pink.

If one defines action based on where the rod bends, faster if it only bends near the tip and slower if it bends farther into the blank, then when you take an existing rod/blank and shorten it from either end the action will become slower. BUT, This is based on the CCS measurement process which gives objective data on power and action, AND it measures the blank/rod from the very ends. Where the grip is is not part of the process and does not affect the numbers. So that's a little quirk in the system, and how that affects what your feeling I won't hazard a guess. ALSO, "fast action" does not mean a stiff tip. That is "power." A fact that most don't realize is that if you have two blanks of the same power, meaning they will deflect the same distance for the same load, the faster the action the softer/less stiff the tip will be. Think of it this way, if you have an extra extra extra fast action rod of quite high power it will flex mostly in the last few inches of the rod and will act like a broom stick with an ice rod on the end of it. It will still be very powerful but you will go through the tip very easily then come up hard on the broom stick section. Before everyone writing to tell me I'm full of bologna please take the time to try to understand the example above. AT THE SAME POWER, AS POWER IS TRADITIONALLY MEASURED, THE FASTER THE ACTION THE SOFTER THE TIP. IT HAS TO BE IN ORDER FOR THE RODS TO HAVE THE SAME POWER. If you want a rod that will snap a spinnerbait off weeds you need a rod of the right "power" (stiffness) to do that. Action is not the issue. Power is. Back to the broom stick. It is obviously very stiff, right? It is very high power. But what is its action? By the definitions commonly used its action is very very very slow. It does not bend only in the tip section; it bends over its whole length. Regarding your pulsing the figure eight for muskies, you are talking about power and not action. The mod fast action rod is actually a lower power rod than the fast that you are comparing it to. You are right in perceiving that it is not following as directly, but it's not because of its action; it's because it is a lower power rod than the faster action one. I hope this helps. If not, ask again and I'll have another go at it. You might want to check out the link below. The system was designed to evaluate fly rods, but it works for any rod. The interaction of power and action is very complex, and hard to understand, but it helps to keep strictly to the definitions of each. Many who discuss it do not and that causes confusion. For example, I saw on here the other day a writer state he had a "heavy action" rod. He surely meant heavy power, but using "action" when "power" is the right word is misleading and confusing. It's sort of like horsepower and torque. They are not the same and not interchangeable. https://www.common-cents.info/

I just have to ask. What is a "stress fracture?" I believe that any time stress exceeds strength there will be a fracture. but the question is, what kind of stress? And/or was the strength compromised by a previous crush or defect? Don't kill me, just trying to gain clarity. I would think that one would have to work pretty hard to get a blank to fail there, even if using a vice to hold the butt. Unless. . . thanks for sticking with it, I hope to learn.

From what I've read, including a quite complete article on rod failures, usually a rod when failing from a manufacturing defect will fail right away. During the first few times it's stressed. Was that the first time the rod was stressed in that way? From the article photos of failure causes, the closest photo to what your rod looks like is a crush-induced failure. I suppose it could have been crushed during manufacture. Very interesting. We may never know the cause. But a failure under relatively low stress at the strongest area of the rod is very unusual. Have you contacted Lew's yet? I expect they will provide a replacement.

Any possibility that the butt got crushed earlier in its life, like in a car door, or. . . ? I cannot think of a manufacturing defect that would allow a failure at this point in the rod. The stress caused by what you describe has to be pretty low and leads me to think that the rod was about ready to go when you caught this fish.

He's pulling the guide "out from under" the thread wraps but not all the way out so that the wraps cover the foot of the guide and a little of the blank. I believe it takes quite a few more wraps than 5 or 6, but maybe I'm misinterpreting what he is saying. This works best with very small guides that are hard to fasten to the blank to get started wrapping; I've never done it with bigger guides. You just start the wrapping on the guide foot itself, not the blank. Then pull the guide. It is quite tricky as it's easy to pull the guide all the way out.

Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to know when something works out as planned.

Any name brand 2 part epoxy designed as an adhesive, not a wrap epoxy. Your hardware has it. Do not skimp, use plenty, and have paper towels and denatured or 90% (or close) alcohol ready to clean up any epoxy that gets out onto surfaces on the outside, where you don't want it. You have to clean it up while the epoxy is uncured. Once it's cured, you're screwed. Easy peasy, and it will never fail again.